STANLEY CHRISTENSEN, 75; FORMER CHIEF OF VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT IN

THE HARTFORD COURANT

Stanley E. Christensen, longtime fire marshal of Granby and former chief of the Lost Acres Volunteer Fire Department, died Friday. He was 75.

Mr. Christensen moved to Granby 50 years ago and in a short time lost his house to fire. That motivated him to become a volunteer firefighter, and he remained active in firefighting and training most of his life.

After joining the Lost Acres department, Mr. Christensen became lieutenant and in 1960 was elected chief. He served until 1974.

In addition to his local training efforts, Mr. Christensen helped organize the Hartford County fire emergency plan, serving as director and president. He helped establish the Hartford County fire training school, where he was an instructor for 19 years.

Most recently, he was active in planning for the regional firefighting training center at Bradley International Airport.

He became fire marshal in Granby in 1960 and served until two years ago.

Mr. Christensen was born in Hartford and lived in West Hartford before moving to Granby. He worked at Hamilton Standard during World War II and in 1950 started S. Christensen Excavating, from which he retired in 1978.

He leaves two sons, Allen S. Christensen of Granby and James T. Christensen of East Hartland; and three grandchildren.